Of course if you enslave the entire population of the world and know exactly what every one of them is doing all the time there will be nowhere for future terrorists to come from.
I still can't help but wonder when the fight against x has ever been about anything but population control. That's kind of what governments do.
It is a criminal case, and Adobe is a alleged victim.
http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/021203/crime_dmca_2.html
"In testimony, Thomas Diaz, a senior Adobe engineer, said under cross-examination from Burton that ElcomSoft was not the only company to create software that allows people to circumvent security measures of Adobe software.
Apple Computer Inc.'s (NasdaqNM:AAPL - News) latest operating system, OS X, also disables some of Adobe's copyright prevention functions, he said."
Indeed, Microsoft makes excellent hardware in my experience.
My FreeBSD system at home has both a MSFT keyboard and a MSFT Optical Wheel Mouse. I've still got an old laptop around somewhere that's even got MSDOS installed on it.
Almost all of WineX is open source, and that part does work.
BSD's Linux emulation is as flawless as its going to get (IMO), the only thing keeping it from emulating 100% of Linux apps with the ABI is a couple of facts of life about the way BSD works, owing to its being an ancestor of Unix, whereas Linux is just POSIX compliant and very Unixish.
I know the open source part of WineX (90% of it) does run properly, therefore I find it extremely likely that FreeBSD would accept it.
That's right ladies and gents, I have nothing useful to add to this conversation: I'd try it myself, but my BSDbox is just a 5x86.
At first I like the idea of being able to name my company after a fairly common word and then bludgeoning people with the legal system when they use the word... but then I got to thinking:
Violating a service agreement is not the same thing as committing a crime. Any contract has provisions in it for the recourse of a party if the other broke the agreement, I'm sure the FBI was not mentioned.
which brings up the interesting follow up question, does Microsoft manufacture the NICs in the Xboxes or did someone else?
I mean, if they outsourced it to linksys or something we've all got extra NICs of theirs lying around.
Couldn't you just change the MAC address to be identical to some other device you already own then?
I'll bet if I used the MAC addy off one of my Javastations it'd be unique...
Don't be afraid to take a job that you feel is "beneath you" at graduation if nothing better comes along. Believe me, it looks a lot better on your resume to see that you worked for $8/hr in some minor IT job than to see that you spent a year and a half sitting on your ass because there were no decent jobs out there.
The real problem here isn't the underlying OS... virtually all the commercial POS systems are extremely proprietary.
Even if you've got it running on an open operating system the openness you're hoping for isn't going to come easy. Many of these companies won't talk to the end user about how their products work (or how to extend them in some way), but refer you to authorized support companies. These companies insist on micromanaging your businesses use of the POS system (some even insist on being able to remotely access all the data on your servers) and won't tell the end user how to do anything beyond "this is a mouse".
I spent my first year out of college admining a Fujitsu TeamPOS system and trying to learn how to maintain the thing was like pulling teeth. The manuals were long but uninformative, all the file formats were proprietary, and while the systems used commodity hardware (486s) they combined it with some of the darnedest interface boards I've ever seen (which, by the way, do not respond well to cashiers spilling Apple Juice on them) and the device drivers for them were built not into the OS, but into the register program itself.
When the store finally closed I couldn't even get anyone to tell me how to delete the sales data (which the owner insisted on). I wound up lowlevel formatting every last harddrive in the systems before we left, that'll teach 'em:)
Anyhow, I'd take an open POS system running Windows NT over a proprietary system running Linux any day.
The major issue here isn't "can't" so much as "shouldn't".
IDE is targetted at the "at home" user, whereas SCSI is now almost the exclusive domain of businesses looking for performance and haX0rs looking to cut compile times down. The average IDE user just takes the drive, plugs in the cables, and sticks it in... cooling is never even thought of, indeed, you'll be lucky if he puts more than one screw in it.
Even a 10K drive runs HOT. If its on for more than a few days without a fan you're risking your data. A 15K drive that a non-clueful user stuck bare into his PC would be:
1. A support nightmare (hey, you're newfangled hard drive turned into a pile of pudding in my PC)
2. A fire hazard (even if its the customers own damned fault, better to not get him burned to death)
I do fiddle around with Linux and FreeBSD, and have boxes dedicated to both (plus a Solaris box), but my most expensive system is a Windows box. And there's one reason: games.
The fact of the matter is games are just a lot cheaper and more plentiful on Windows than on Linux, or even a Mac.
Marketing dwarfs FDA expenses on the large drugs yes, but what about the niche market drugs you'd never see advertised on TV?
The fact of the matter is approval for sale in the United States is much more expensive (and drawn out) than in virtually any other country in the "civilized world". In some cases its costlier by a factor of ten.
Companies may be bitching and moaning about the cost of the new licensing system for it, but not many of them are actually switching to Word Perfect or OpenOffice/StarOffice.
Office productivity suite dominance is still MSFTs cash cow, and until major companies are willing to jump ship they're going to be pretty profitable.
I don't recall anywhere the right to have any and all research which "could" have application in the next decade developed and paid for by the population as a whole.
Beyond that, the main reason the smaller revenue drugs aren't getting developed is because of the ridiculous amount of money the FDA extorts to get them approved. Don't make it impossible to make a profit on a $10 million a year drug and you just might see more of them being developed.
Well, there is something wrong with the government taking money from a company in the form of tax dollars to create a competing product, but there is also something wrong with taking money from citizens to do research and then refusing to show us the results.
What's the answer? How about people who want to know something do their own damned research and stop getting the government to steal money to do it for them?
Slashdot Mirror
I still can't help but wonder when the fight against x has ever been about anything but population control. That's kind of what governments do.
I got laid the hell off.
maybe because he's got too many items to carry them in his hands? :)
It is a criminal case, and Adobe is a alleged victim.
l
http://biz.yahoo.com/rc/021203/crime_dmca_2.htm
"In testimony, Thomas Diaz, a senior Adobe engineer, said under cross-examination from Burton that ElcomSoft was not the only company to create software that allows people to circumvent security measures of Adobe software.
Apple Computer Inc.'s (NasdaqNM:AAPL - News) latest operating system, OS X, also disables some of Adobe's copyright prevention functions, he said."
So maybe Apple is next?
I'll go ya one better:
We lost control when somebody decided there should be people in a city somewhere who get to make decisions about how we are allowed to live our lives
Umm... can they do that?
I mean, since Mozilla is "free" can they place distribution conditions on it and deny people the ability to distribute it?
Knoppix has it, how does Klaus manage it?
Indeed, Microsoft makes excellent hardware in my experience.
My FreeBSD system at home has both a MSFT keyboard and a MSFT Optical Wheel Mouse. I've still got an old laptop around somewhere that's even got MSDOS installed on it.
http://www.pcguide.com/ref/cpu/fam/g4C5x86-c.html
That's what a goddamn 5x86 is, dumbass.
Almost all of WineX is open source, and that part does work. BSD's Linux emulation is as flawless as its going to get (IMO), the only thing keeping it from emulating 100% of Linux apps with the ABI is a couple of facts of life about the way BSD works, owing to its being an ancestor of Unix, whereas Linux is just POSIX compliant and very Unixish. I know the open source part of WineX (90% of it) does run properly, therefore I find it extremely likely that FreeBSD would accept it. That's right ladies and gents, I have nothing useful to add to this conversation: I'd try it myself, but my BSDbox is just a 5x86.
If Firefly had C'tarl C'tarl in it, I'd have watched.
At first I like the idea of being able to name my company after a fairly common word and then bludgeoning people with the legal system when they use the word... but then I got to thinking:
Won't Apple be able to sue emacs.org?
Violating a service agreement is not the same thing as committing a crime. Any contract has provisions in it for the recourse of a party if the other broke the agreement, I'm sure the FBI was not mentioned.
which brings up the interesting follow up question, does Microsoft manufacture the NICs in the Xboxes or did someone else? I mean, if they outsourced it to linksys or something we've all got extra NICs of theirs lying around.
Couldn't you just change the MAC address to be identical to some other device you already own then? I'll bet if I used the MAC addy off one of my Javastations it'd be unique...
Will a fireproof safe generally allow you to put a firewire harddrive in it? If so can you get a refund on the safe?
Don't be afraid to take a job that you feel is "beneath you" at graduation if nothing better comes along. Believe me, it looks a lot better on your resume to see that you worked for $8/hr in some minor IT job than to see that you spent a year and a half sitting on your ass because there were no decent jobs out there.
The real problem here isn't the underlying OS... virtually all the commercial POS systems are extremely proprietary.
:)
Even if you've got it running on an open operating system the openness you're hoping for isn't going to come easy. Many of these companies won't talk to the end user about how their products work (or how to extend them in some way), but refer you to authorized support companies. These companies insist on micromanaging your businesses use of the POS system (some even insist on being able to remotely access all the data on your servers) and won't tell the end user how to do anything beyond "this is a mouse".
I spent my first year out of college admining a Fujitsu TeamPOS system and trying to learn how to maintain the thing was like pulling teeth. The manuals were long but uninformative, all the file formats were proprietary, and while the systems used commodity hardware (486s) they combined it with some of the darnedest interface boards I've ever seen (which, by the way, do not respond well to cashiers spilling Apple Juice on them) and the device drivers for them were built not into the OS, but into the register program itself.
When the store finally closed I couldn't even get anyone to tell me how to delete the sales data (which the owner insisted on). I wound up lowlevel formatting every last harddrive in the systems before we left, that'll teach 'em
Anyhow, I'd take an open POS system running Windows NT over a proprietary system running Linux any day.
The major issue here isn't "can't" so much as "shouldn't".
IDE is targetted at the "at home" user, whereas SCSI is now almost the exclusive domain of businesses looking for performance and haX0rs looking to cut compile times down. The average IDE user just takes the drive, plugs in the cables, and sticks it in... cooling is never even thought of, indeed, you'll be lucky if he puts more than one screw in it.
Even a 10K drive runs HOT. If its on for more than a few days without a fan you're risking your data. A 15K drive that a non-clueful user stuck bare into his PC would be:
1. A support nightmare (hey, you're newfangled hard drive turned into a pile of pudding in my PC)
2. A fire hazard (even if its the customers own damned fault, better to not get him burned to death)
Anyone know what percentage of the $20,000,000+ that VA had in revenue in the past year comes from slashdot donations?
The sad truth is that people ARE disposable, especially in this type of economy where they are easily replaced.
But then, what good is "employed for life" if your company goes under?
I do fiddle around with Linux and FreeBSD, and have boxes dedicated to both (plus a Solaris box), but my most expensive system is a Windows box. And there's one reason: games.
The fact of the matter is games are just a lot cheaper and more plentiful on Windows than on Linux, or even a Mac.
Marketing dwarfs FDA expenses on the large drugs yes, but what about the niche market drugs you'd never see advertised on TV?
The fact of the matter is approval for sale in the United States is much more expensive (and drawn out) than in virtually any other country in the "civilized world". In some cases its costlier by a factor of ten.
Two words: Microsoft Office
Companies may be bitching and moaning about the cost of the new licensing system for it, but not many of them are actually switching to Word Perfect or OpenOffice/StarOffice.
Office productivity suite dominance is still MSFTs cash cow, and until major companies are willing to jump ship they're going to be pretty profitable.
I don't recall anywhere the right to have any and all research which "could" have application in the next decade developed and paid for by the population as a whole.
Beyond that, the main reason the smaller revenue drugs aren't getting developed is because of the ridiculous amount of money the FDA extorts to get them approved. Don't make it impossible to make a profit on a $10 million a year drug and you just might see more of them being developed.
Well, there is something wrong with the government taking money from a company in the form of tax dollars to create a competing product, but there is also something wrong with taking money from citizens to do research and then refusing to show us the results.
What's the answer? How about people who want to know something do their own damned research and stop getting the government to steal money to do it for them?